Last Day

So the day started with going to the Cuban restuarant we went to the other day, just as good as last time, but there were more of us that didn't get a chance to eat there got the chance to do it. After that, we went to Sweet Revenge, an amazing cupcake place, pretty much every cupcake in the display reminded me of one thing...Type 2 Diabetes. Very delicious, with a great atmosphere, the young woman working there, whose name is escaping me at the current moment, seemed really cool, and inviting towards the place, it probably helped that Kim was a regular visitor of the place. To end the day, I watched my favorite television show, Smallville, while doing the last bit of laundry I had to do before we take off tomorrow morning. Looking forward to returning back to little ole South Dakota, moving a little slower, seeing USF is long overdue. Being that this is my last New York blog, I would like to thank Kim for giving me the chance at such an amazing experience, and all those who are out here with me. We may have our little arguements, but it's been a great honor getting to know you all better, and I wouldn't have asked for a better group to have to live with, and I hope we can remain good friends back in Sioux Falls.

So Ben Stiller doesn't work here? Things don't come to life at night?

So Teake and I didn't have anything planned, so we decided go check out the Museum of Natural History. I wasn't really that excited, because I wasn't entirely sure what was in there, so I was expecting more boredom than anything. We got there, and it was actually really cool, the exhibits were all really interesting. What amazed me the most was the art work behind the animal exhibits. They are so realistic, I felt that when I got close enough, that I was in the environment that the animals are naturally from. Which, when you think about it, is kind of scary. I mean, your standing there, and boom you are in the same habitat as a tiger. With a highly realistic tiger standing in front of you, oh man, scary. Besides that, everything there was really cool, only one more full day left in New York. What kind of shenanigans will I get myself into in the last day? Stay tuned.

In the Heights, with Corbin Bleu

So I woke up today, feeling good, I don't know why or how, but I felt almost invincible. Which was good since Eric and I decided to go try the lottery for In the Heights. Eric had to hand out sandwiches so we met at the theater. We signed up, and went outside for the drawing. During the drawing, there was a sheet of paper that looked a lot like mine, because it was. I won the lottery to In the Heights! I was jacked beyond all belief, we got our tickets then I got my family some suvernoirs (if thats how you spell it). Before the show, we were sitting in front of the theatre, and wouldn't you know it Kenny Ortega, good friend of Corbin Bleu, and director of movies like High School Musical and Newsies was entering the theatre. I could literally feel my little sister getting excited as I texted my family that he was there. My sister is a huge HSM fan, so I knew going to this show that she was going to be very jealous of me, but I digress. The show was awesome, amazing look, great actors, great choreography, just great. After the show, Eric and I decided to wait to get some Herby Hancocks on our playbill. The great thing about most actors is how willing they are to hang out with the fans. All the actors and dancers who stuck around where really cool, and were holding good conversations with us. Then there was chaos that was Corbin Bleu, he stepped out and I was literally bombarded by playbills from little girls standing behind me. Eric held a good conversation with him, even with all that stuff going on. It seemed that Corbin was an awesome guy, he was really interested in what everyone was saying around him. Just all around a great time. Until next time.

p.s. I know the picture isn't top quality, my camera on my phone doesn't being too close aparently, and will take very odd pictures.

Fountain Pop

Waking up somewhat early has always been a chore for me, but I find it a little easier when I have a mystery agenda. We woke up a little on the early side to go the Fountain House, which is an organization to help people with mental illnesses transition from the hospitals and institutions to the working world. It was really interesting to see the people in the house. There were a good number that I would not have guessed they had a mental illness until I spoke with them. Like our tour guide, Ben, at first he was very quiet, and when he first started speaking it wasn't noticable that he was recovering from a mental illness, it wasn't until we checked out the culinary unit, when he repeated the same idea of this where people eat that I began to suspect something, and not until he said he lived in a housing development from Fountain House that I realized that he was in fact a member not just a volunteer there. Great experience doing that, but after that, I got a different kind of experience, Cuban food. Just got to say, delicious! Amazing food, they played upbeat music for the duration of our time in the restaurant. All around amazing. Then to round out the day, Anne and I went to play Bingo uptown. It was a lot of fun, there was a hispanic woman next to me who was just a joy to be around. She came in with a very fun attitude towards the game, always playfully taunting the callers. The group leaders for this activity surprised me though. They had been doing bingo for 4 years now, and they gave out dollars to the winners. We found out that money was out of their own pockets. That just flatout amazed me, because bingo is a twice a month activity, so they are using a good amount of their own money for this activity. It just shows you the willingness of the people in the program, because in the economy of today, you don't see many people willingly give out a lot of their money to complete strangers. It's really inspirational to see such a thing.

Saints win! Colts win!

So another day of playoff games, and another day of no drive to really go anywhere but the couch to watch the games. The New York Jets came out strong at the beginning of the game, but were no match for Payton Manning and the Colts, and saw the end of their season. Which, at least to me, was a good reason not to go walking around New York, angry drunk fans are never fun to run into. After the Jets-Colts game, it was time for the Vikings-Saints game, wow! That game was so close, best playoff game of the season. Brett Favre and the Vikings weren't firing from all cylinders, but they were still getting the job done, taking the game into overtime. Unfortunately, the Saints took overtime with a field goal kick at the end of the game taking them to the Superbowl. Great football day, can't wait for the next couple of days. Until next time.

I thought we were going to the museum, this is a subway station...oh, it is the museum

New York Cares: early wake up for Teake, Jordan, and I, because we had New York Cares, where we chaporoned kids from the St. Theresa house on their trip to the Transit Museum. I had, what at first seemed a shy young man by the name of Maliek, who turned out to be a bit of a hyper ball of energy. The good thing about Maliek, is he never got too far away from his brother, making it fairly easy to keep an eye on him, since there was another chaporone attempting as hard as I was to keep an eye on the two of them, at some points I will not lie, I lost the kid, but it wasn't hard to find him again, because I could hear him from a good distance away. The museum was really cool, it was in an old subway station that was closed down because the train that went through it traveled a total of ten blocks, and everyone just got smart and walked instead of wait for a train. There were a lot of old subway cars, that the kids got to play around in, and parts of a bus for kids to simulate driving in, just all around a good time for these kids. After that, the three of us USFers returned to the apartment to catch up on some sleep, since the kids tired us out. Then I ended the night by going over to the KGB bar, that has a theatre on it's first floor, that holds a show called Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind. It was really good, they had a good mix of serious stuff and comedy. Thinking of their short plays they had in their show reminds to bring it down to a highly serious note. We all have a chance to make a difference in someone's life, and sometimes that means a lot more to certain people than others, the people of Haiti have experienced a tremendous travesty to their country, and I would strongly recommend attempting to assist those who are homeless, alone, afraid, and for those hopefully still fighting for their lives. If you can find a way to help in any way to rescue or assistance, please do. Sometimes all it takes is a simple gift of a dollar, or maybe a donation to get some of the less fortunate some food to help them make it through another day. Because you may think you have it hard with your long days at work, or dealing with difficult people in your lives, but trust me, it is nothing compared to what the people of Haiti are going through, and will probably never amount to the amount of hurt that a large group of survivors have gone through. Until next time.

Stardust for Everyone!

Tumble outta bed
And stumble to the kitchen
Pour myself a cup of ambition
Yawnin, stretchin, try to come to life
Jump in the shower
And the blood starts pumpin
Out on the streets
The traffic starts jumpin
And folks like me on the job from 9 to 5
Don't know why, but I thought of that song, and felt it was a good way to start this. Great day, started with an amazing tour of the infamous Carnagie Hall. Amazing, and beautiful place to be in, a couple members of the group sang in the main hall. Amazing sound in there, you don't even know. I would strongly recommend checking that out for any music lovers out there. After that, Kolvek and I made our way to an interesting restaurant, called Stardust. Its really cool, there is always a waitor singing, because they are all aspiring actors, who want to sing on Broadway. Really cool stuff, very moving to see the talent in such a place. To round out the day, we checked out the Staten Island Ferry, saw good ol' Lady Liberty Liberty, extremely moving, I don't know what it is about seeing that statue, but whenever I see it, it just makes me proud to be an American. But that is all the news I have for today, until next time.